OpenRent is an online letting agent and property service provider, founded in 2012. It is a UK-based startup company focused on technological solutions to property rentals.[1] It claims to be the largest letting agent in the UK based on number of properties, boasting over 5 million users as of 2022.
Using SMS and Voice to let properties faster
OpenRent charges landlords a flat fee of £29 to find a tenant, and £49 to set up a tenancy. Landlords are not allowed to add markup fees to any service, such as credit checks, which means both tenants and private landlords save cash.
The service relies on SMS and phone communication, powered by Twilio.
“We send alerts via SMS a lot because it’s just a better way than email,” said Bradbury. “Twilio is absolutely vital to what we do. We send each tenant enquiry through to the landlord via SMS. Viewings are arranged by SMS. If the landlord wants to say that the property is now let, they can reply to the SMS and we’ll take it off the market.”
The team also uses Twilio Client to manage their phone calls. In the very early days of OpenRent, Twilio routed calls direct to Bradbury’s mobile phone, meaning he often answered tenant enquiries at 6am. Once they had a growing customer base, he was able to simply divert calls to the call center using the Twilio API. Twilio Programmable Voice allows for recorded enquiries to be left by phone, and made available to landlords to listen to at their convenience.
“Call operatives can automatically pull the number and look at caller information,” said Bradbury. “Tenants access an automated service to request a viewing or ask for more information. We know what the customer wants, we don’t necessarily have to speak to them. Twilio makes it easy to get this info.”
Is ‘Openrent’ legit?
I’ve been out of the country for 12 years. Sadly, AI has decimated my work, so it’s time to return to London. I’ve been looking at hostels to plot up for a few months, but most seem to have maximum time limits on stays or won’t accept people my age (59). It’s going to take me a few months to reactivate/update my work qualifications, so I’m going to apply for universal credit to tide me over until I find work. There seems to be more rooms to let with landlords who will consider tenants on benefits on Openrent than there are on Rightmove. But I’ve never used the site. Is it a genuine option for tenants? Any pitfalls I should be aware of?
But how Does OpenRent work?
What makes it tick, and can renters and landlords achieve a genuine letting and renting experience using the platform?What exactly does OpenRent have going for it?
In this guide, we’re bringing you everything there is to know about Open Rent, including how it works, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. Learn how it approaches customer service, what landlords and tenants think of OpenRent and how it stacks up against competitors with our handy guide.
Landlords
Landlords list their property on OpenRent, who then market it to renters looking for somewhere to live. Properties features on OpenRent’s website, as well as property portals like Rightmove and Zoopla (more on that in a bit). Landlords will need to sign up for an Open Rent account, which is free to create.
As the landlord, you have creative freedom over your property listing. You can take your own images of the property (though OpenRent does offer professional photography at a cost), enter the property’s details and write a description advertising the property.
OpenRent will then review everything and make it live after it’s been approved. Once the listing is live on Open Rent, landlords can receive enquiries from renters directly and use the OpenRent dashboard to schedule viewings, accept offers and go through the entire renting process.
OpenRent app
OpenRent doesn’t have an app and instead centres everything on its website functionality. At first, this might come as a surprise. But it’s very much in line with other online letting agents, who also focus on maximising the benefits of their website to provide a seamless service for customers.
Just because Open Rent doesn’t have an app doesn’t mean you can’t use it on your phone or tablet. The website is fully optimised for mobile use, and you can open an account, browse properties and let your own one using the browsers on your smart devices, such as Safari and Chrome.
Some of the pros of using OpenRent:
- Price – OpenRent is considerably cheaper than using a high-street letting agent. That means you can potentially save thousands by listing your property with OpenRent. It’s much more affordable than using a traditional agent.
- Control – Landlords have more control over the process when they use Open Rent as opposed to a traditional agent.
Extra services – OpenRent makes most of its money from the extra services it sells, such as compliance checks, inventory
Cons of using OpenRent
While there are pros to using the service, not everyone will agree that value for money always beats the overall experience. Landlords ultimately want to rent out their home as quickly as possible while saving money. But if they believe the property will sit empty for months, they’re more likely to choose the option that gets them the fastest let.
Below are some of the cons of using OpenRent:
- Communication – There is no direct point of content on OpenRent, and getting in touch with a team member isn’t a fluid process. Therefore, many landlords and renters may find the lack of communication to be an issue.
- No full management – With OpenRent, you don’t have an option for a fully managed service. That means you will need to be a more hands-on landlord if you want to benefit from Open Rent’s services.
- No maintenance network – Managing your property is entirely down to you, which means you can’t tap into any resources on OpenRent to find options for managing your property. Once the property is let, OpenRent has more or less served its purpose.
